Archive note: This text comes from the old archive of Nomika Epilekta and is preserved with care for historical and informational reading.

School bullying is a phenomenon of juvenile delinquency that appears in many countries of the world. School bullying refers to the use of violence among students or children of the same age with the aim of causing pain or distress. It appears in the form of verbal bullying (mockery, discrimination, sexual comments), social bullying (spreading rumors, destroying personal belongings, isolating someone from the group), physical bullying (hitting, pushing, kicking, sexual harassment), and electronic bullying (blackmail through the Internet and email, through messages on a mobile phone).

The phenomenon of school bullying was studied for the first time in 1978 in Norway and, 9 years later, in 1987, the relevant term “bullying” appeared in many scientific journals. Although as a phenomenon it is identified and recorded in the 1970s, it should not be considered to have appeared then. After all, it is another expression of violent behavior, which exists from the birth of humankind. Based on the results of a study carried out by the Society for the Psychosocial Health of Children and Adolescents in cooperation with the School of Education of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 25% of students have suffered some form of bullying within the school environment with a frequency of two to three times a month or even more. Boys are more often perpetrators and victims of bullying behavior, which appears mainly in the school environment in spaces without supervision by teachers, such as the yard, the corridor and the classroom during recess. This situation can affect the psycho-emotional development of the child and the learning process. More specifically, children who become victims of school bullying initially feel fear and despair and show tendencies to flee. They feel threatened, become frightened, refuse to go to school and show symptoms of school phobia. They may also become aggressive and nervous, while there are many cases in which the victimized children themselves can become perpetrators against other children or against their siblings at home. On the other hand, parents usually do not perceive the problem and state that they are unaware of it. This happens because victims more often confess the bullying incident to their friends. If, however, parents identify one of the aforementioned symptoms and suspect that their child has fallen victim to bullying, it is considered necessary for them to approach the child and react by first addressing teachers and the competent education directorates. It is particularly important for the child to feel that he or she has the support of parents and school. In addition, specialists insist that children must not be afraid, must have the courage of their opinion and must learn to “speak”. In incidents of school bullying, the role of the school, teachers and also the family is very basic. Very often, the school places the blame on the child-victim. It refuses to accept that the school mechanism lacks sensitivity and organization in order to deal with such phenomena. It describes the child as hypersensitive, implying that the parents are neurotic. For the school, it is much easier to ignore the problem than to deal with it, especially when it does not have sufficient coverage in specialized personnel. Thus, parents may themselves feel like victims of the system. In these cases, a visit to a psychologist or child psychologist is naturally the only salvation. Child psychologists point out that situations of this kind, especially when the child refuses to cooperate, require calm handling. They recommend that we speak to the child calmly and assure the child that the fault is not his or hers. Many parents who face problems of this kind wonder whether some children are more vulnerable than others. To this, specialists answer that “all children may become targets of malicious behavior by classmates, but there are some factors that may make a child more vulnerable. For example, shy and timid children, those who do not have friends or who have a different sexual orientation, run a greater risk”. If you are a victim or witness of school bullying, you can contact “The Smile of the Child”. The Smile of the Child has developed many actions for the prevention and management of situations of School Bullying. The Department for Informing Children, Parents and Educators carries out talks on school bullying for students, parents and educators in schools throughout Greece. For more information: http://www.hamogelo.gr/7-1/770/Enhmerosh-poidion--goneon-koi-ekpoideytikon Through the National Telephone Line for Children SOS 1056, telephone support is provided for the management of such phenomena. For more information: http://www.hamogelo.gr/7-1/754/Ethnikh-thlefonikh-grammh-gia-ta-poidia-SOS-1056 Through the Departments of Social and Psychological Support, counseling support is provided to parents, children and educators. For more information: http://www.hamogelo.gr/7-1/767/Koinonikh-koi-psyxologikh-sthrixh-poidion The Smile of the Child is the coordinating body for the creation of a pan-European campaign of awareness and information on the phenomenon of school bullying. For more information: http://www.hamogelo.gr/147.1/Erga-se-exelixh ) Alternatively, you can contact http://www.e-abc.eu/ (Europe’s Untibullying Campaign). This is a European campaign against school bullying, which operates in cooperation with The Smile of the Child and has operated since 2000 with the aim of direct help and support for child-victims.